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HOW TO BE A 



SUCCESSFUL TEACHER 



AMOS M. KELLOGG 

EDITOR OF **THE SCHOOL JOURNAL," "THE TEACHRRS' INSTITUTE," "THE 
PRIMARY SCHOOL "; AUTHOR OF " SCHOOL MANAGEMENT," ETC, 




NEW YORK AND CHICAGO 

E, L. KELLOGG & CO. 



^3 \^^^ 

Two Ooples KeceiV6(3 

DEC 4 \90f 

CLASS a XXc. Wo.| 
jL ; 0OPY B. 

Copyright, 1900, by 

E. L. KELLOGG & CO. 

NEW YORK 



RQBERT DRVMMOND, PRINTER, NEW YORK. 



PREFACE. 

Theee are three classes of teachers. 

There are the lesson-hearers, who : look upon the 
pupil as an imbiber^ not of all knowledge, but of a little 
concerning reading and arithmetic; they are repeaters 
of, ^^ Sit still and learn your lessons/^ This is an im- 
mense class. .. .._'.- 

There are those who have learned to manage num- 
bers of pupils and cause them to move about and recite 
in an orderly manner. 

There are those who have learned how to employ the 
school studies and life as a sculptor employs chisels; 
their aim is character. 

While the effort of the author has been to prepare a 
small helpful book for that great number who enter the 
school-room without special preparation, but are con- 
scientiously desirous of bestowing upon their pupils a 
lasting benefit, the central aim has been to differentiate 
lesson-Jiearing from teaching. The hope is that the 
reader will be led mightily to resolve, ^^ I will be more 
than a lesson-hearer/^ 

It was not possible to discuss Teaching very fully; 
the subjects of Government, Interest, Order, etc., al- 
ways being deemed by the young teacher as most essen- 
tial to success. The reader is urged to obtain books 

3 



4 Preface. 

/ "t discuss these subjects, to think deeply upon it when 
. class is before him, and carry on his work in the 
light of the foundation principles of teaching. 

The author hopes that this little book will be received 
with the favor accorded to his volume on " School Man- 
agement ^^; it certainly is written with the same spirit 
— an earnest desire to put the teacher on higher van- 
tage-ground. 

Amos M. Kellogg. 

October, 1900. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Preface. 3 

Ihe Teacher's QuALiFicATroNS 8 

1 Pcsstr^sion of Knowledge. 8 

2. Poicer to Interest 10 

A. Love. B. A Pleasant Manner. C. Society. D. Value 
of Knowledge. E. Emulation. F. Praise, G. Em- 
ploy ment. H. Novelty. I. Exhibition of Objects. J. 
Condition of building. K. Public Exercises. 

3. Power to Govern 18 

Programs. Self-control. Looking in the Eye. In- 
dustry. Incentives. Their Application. Fear and 
Shame. 

Self-government 27 

A. Unifying the School. B. Organizing it. C. Indi- 
vidual Self-government. D. Discussion of Principles. 

Government Continued 33 

Rules. Whispering. Disobedience. 

Punishments 35 

A. Displeasure. B. Deprivation. C. Reproof. D. Scold- 
ing. E. Losing Distinction. G Detention. H. Parental 
Influence. 

Teaching 39 

The Mechanical Side of the Recitation. The Central 
Aim, First Aim. Second Aim. Third Aim. Fourth 
Aim. Fifth Aim. Sixth Aim. The Teacher's Position. 
Courtesy, Neatness, etc. The Pupil's Position. Point- 
ers, Blackboards, etc. 

The Educational Side of the Recitation. The Seven 
Elements : 1. The Arts of Mankind ; 2. Knowledge ; 
3. Training ; 4. Sociology ; 5. Joy fulness ; 6. Forming " 
Ideals ; 7. Knowing the Truth. General Information. 
Singing of Hymns. Literature. 
The Teacher's Success 59 



HOW TO BE A SUCCESSFULTEACHER. 



It is probable that in this country 100,000 persons 
every year undertake teaching for the first time; and 
that 50,000 of these quit it after a trial of a few months, 
finding it more difficult than they anticipated. It is 
probable that many of these unsuccessful ones would 
be glad to return to the school-room again; it is prob- 
able that many of them have the making of superior 
teachers in them, but the difficulties are so numerous, 
the friction so constant, and the failure so apparent to 
the eyes of observant pupils that the occupation is 
given up in despair. 

Again, very many of those who do continue to teach 
are doing a very inferior kind of work, and would be 
glad of suggestions of better methods. 

The author believes that a young man (1) possessing 
sufficient scholarship, (2) who wants to benefit children 
by teaching them, (3) and will study them, (4) who will 
investigate the principles involved, and who will (5) 
make a constant effort to acquire skill in the art of 
teaching and management, may be a successful teacher. 

Very few of the teachers in our schools but are 
conscientious, and earnestly desire to do their whole 

7 



8 How to be a Successful Teacher. 

duty by their pupils. A large part of those who begin 
teaching each year have had no special preparation; this 
was the writer's case. A trustee halted the principal 
of the academy and asked^ " Haven't you a young fel- 
low who can teach our school this winter? '' The prin- 
cipal thought a moment and called the writer^ and a 
bargain was soon made. 

Fortunately, the writer had a friend who had gradu- 
ated at the Albany Normal School, and to him he 
turned for aid. This friend prepared for him careful in- 
struction in a series of letters which discussed the prac- 
tical problems of the school-room. It was conceded that 
the writer had made that first school a good school, 
and he attributed it to the clear exposition contained 
in those letters. If the writer can be of equal service 
to teachers similarly situated he will in some measure 
discharge the debt he owes to Henry W. Collins. 

THE TEACHER^S QUALIFICATIONS. 

1. Possession of Knowledge. — When a young man 
proposes to become a teacher he is tested to ascertain 
whether he possesses the knowledge that has been fixed 
upon by the authorities as needful. A gread many con- 
sider themselves lucky if they can obtain a certificate of 
fitness on a small amount of knowledge. It is true it w^as 
once the opinion that those who taught young children 
needed but little knowledge; but that belief is now 
. exploded. The teacher needs to have read, studied, and 
thought a great deal in order to be the possessor of 
mmtal power. Hence, the teacher of little children is 



How to be a Successful Teacher. 

examined in arithmetic^ geography^ grammar^ geometry, 
algebra, etc. And the complaint often made by pri- 
mary teachers, that they are examined in studies they 
will not be required to teach, it not well grounded. 

Good scholarship is rightly considered the founda- 
tion of success in the school-room, but it is the founda- 
tion only. There are many men who possess this and 
are conspicuous failures. It is the same in the pro- 
fessions of law, theology, and medicine. The knowledge 
in such cases, instead of being a vivifying force, is a 
dead, inert mass in the mind. 

There are teachers apparently who feel that if they 
can only once get into the school-room they will some- 
how get along no matter how small their knowledge. 
Such an opinion brings discredit on the profession. It 
has been, and is, weighted down with a multitude of 
half-educated young men and women. In the State of 
New York one can hold a third-grade certificate but 
one year; if he desires to continue to teach he must 
pass a more difficult examination in order to obtain a 
second-grade certificate, and this he can hold but two 
years. 

It may be considered as a rule, then, that good 
scholarship is the essential starting-point. The aim 
should be to possess the highest grade of certificate; 
this is generally recognized in each of the States as a 
token of superior fitness. If the teacher begins with 
a third-grade certificate, lie should not rest until the 
higher one is in his possession. A young man was em- 
ployed in Oneida County holding such a certificate; it 
was soon noted by the farmers that he always carried 



16 How to be a Successfvl Teachef. 

a book as he walked to and from his school; he was a 
student as well as teacher. In a few years he occupied 
a position in a Normal school. 

The teacher should be as dissatisfied with his own 
scholarship as he is with that of his pupils. As he makes 
it his daily effort to increase their knowledge^ so he 
should strive to increase his own. 

2. Power to Interest. — The teacher enters the school- 
room and immediately sets lessons to be learned; he 
requires the pupils to sit still; he insists on the work 
being done not as they wish, but as he commands. All 
this is irksome and sometimes repulsive^ and yet in a 
vast number of school-rooms the children are happy. 
In many cases they prefer to go to school rather than 
to stay at home. It is plain that they are interested. 
If a number of schools is visited^ those where interest is 
apparent will be pronounced the good ones. Hence, in- 
terest is often said to measure the school; and the ques- 
tion the teacher must often debate is, " How shall I 
create an interest? ^^ 

A. The first element is love; children will learn 
lessons for, sit still at their seats for, and recite what 
they have learned for, one who loves them. And the 
teacher must make a daily and hourly effort to love 
every member of the group that assembles with him in 
the school-room. Not limiting his love to the hand- 
some, to those coming from good homes, or even the 
appreciative ones; but bestowing it like the dew of 
heaven on the just and the unjust. Some teachers de- 
clare that they cannot love unlovable children; but this 
is a mistake: the foundation of the Christian religion 



How to be a Successful Teacher. ii 

is built on '^ Love for the unloving." The teacher 
must possess something besides natural affection; he 
must have the affection of benevolence. 

B, The teacher should study and practice having a 
pleasant way. A cheerful^ sunny way wins children's 
hearts; it awaj^ens cheerfulness; it arouses a desire to 
be with that teacher^ to do what he wishes. A smile 
on the face when some right act is performed prompts 
the repetition of the act. The cultivation of a cheerful 
disposition should be a daily effort. In a vast number 
of the school-rooms the voice of the teacher is an un- 
pleasant one, his countenance wears a frown, and he 
rarely seems pleased. These things destroy interest. 
At an Institute where most of the teachers possessed 
experience, the conductors commented on the " cross '' 
looks before them. The question was asked, ^^ How 
would you feel if the conductors of this Institute should 
look cross and wear frowns all the time? '' They con- 
fessed it would be dispiriting; occasion was made to 
impress the importance of a pleasant face as an educa- 
tional factor. 

C, The society of their fellows is one of the strongest 
influences that draw children towards the school; they 
love to be in groups; there is power in numbers with 
them just as with adults; they do not assemble because 
of the useful knowledge they are to obtain, — it is the 
enjoyment that comes from the society of others. The 
teacher may use this as a force in promoting educa- 
tion. If the pupils are induced to come early, the 
period before school may be employed in a variety of 
delightful ways; they can be permitted to assemble in 



12 How to be a Successful Teacher. 

the school-room and converse with each other. Some 
teachers forbid conversation at this time, but it is a 
mistake. 

J), The value, of knowledge may be employed to inter- 
est pupils in the school. Pestalozzi declares this to 
have been one of the powerful means he employed to 
induce study. His pupils were orphans, many of them 
of necessity beggars (on account of a war), and he 
showed them that a knowledge of writing and arith- 
metic would enable them to earn a respectable living. 
The writer has found it exceedingly helpful to cham- 
pion the school, to magnify it in the eyes of the pupils; 
especially to point out that the educated people of the 
world are the happy ones; to show that wisdom's ways 
are pleasant ones. While this may not affect the 
younger classes, it may be made to strongly influence the 
older ones. 

-E'. Emulation arouses effort to perform the school 
work. The bestowal of prizes is exceedingly objection- 
able. But one of the results of persons coming together 
in groups is the recognition that certain ones excel in 
certain things; as in a town or city, so in a school. The 
writer had a pupil that wrote exceedingly well; he often 
called him to the blackboard to write the word on 
which the writing class was practicing, or to make 
capital letters. It aroused an effort on the part of the 
other pupils to write equally well. The influence of 
this boy in the writing class was distinctly seen. In a 
similar way the pupils may be stimulated to equal the 
work of another in the arithmetic class or in general 



How to be a Successful Teacher. 13 

conduct. To understand this the teacher must watch 
pupils at their games. 

F. Praise produces an effort to do work assigned; 
it is usually employed to arouse emulation. It is a 
prodigious power and is often wrongly employed. To 
bestow praise only on the one who excels is not only 
poor policy, but it is wrong in principle; the attentive, 
the industrious, and the painstaking deserve and must 
receive praise or the teacher fails in justice. At a 
school commencement the principal arose to distribute 
" honors.^' He said, " I am to distribute twenty-four 
honors, but this is a small part of those that have been 
earned; some on account of sickness, some on account 
of absence and other causes, will not receive them. 
These are not all the best scholars; the best are those 
who have conscientiously done their best whether 
recognized or not; that kind is numerous in this 
school.^' 

Such an acknowledgment is always due to a class 
when praise is bestowed; it is praise in fact. The 
tendency of teachers is to find fault; they seem to fear 
to praise. 

^^ John, that was well done.'^ 

^' Mary, you read well; I could hear every word.'^ 

^' We have had a good day; I have enjoyed every 
moment." 

"I want to thank you for coming in from recess in 
such good order." 

'' I noticed the assistance Henry gave to [here 

tells the incident] and beg to say that such things do 
this school credit." 



14 How to be a Successful Teacher. 

" I met a lady yesterday who complimented the boys 
on the courteous way in which they conduct themselves 
in the street/^ 

These are samples of what the teacher may say on 
proper occasions. 

A word of caution may be uttered to certain teachers 
who employ flattery in large doses. A school was 
visited where the teacher said, 

" We have such a nice little boy here; he always 
reads well. John, you may read.'^ 

'^ Mary brought me such a pretty flower this morning; 
she made a picture as she handed it to me.'^ 

Such language misses the mark; the pupils know the 
teacher is simply dealing in sugared words. Do not 
mistake flattery for praise. 

G. Another means of arousing interest is the em- 
ployment of pupils to carry on the school work. The 
wise teacher knows the value of co-operation; he ob- 
tains the help of his pupils. To make this plain, let 
us watch a young clergyman in a community where a 
new church is to be organized. He visits the people, 
finds out the leading minds, fixes on certain members 
for trustees, deacons, or elders; when the enterprise is 
in operation a dozen persons are seen to be involved, 
each carrying some responsibility. 

The teacher will do well to imitate this. In a school 
of thirty or forty pupils, several will be selected to aid 
him; two will assist in the play-ground; two in the 
school-room; they may be called " first officer,^^ '^ second 
officer,'^ or " first assistant,^^ '^ second assistant," etc. 
Duties are assigned to each; each has a book and 



How to be a Successful Teacher. ig 

records his work; he reports daily, showing his book; 
the teacher writes " approved '^ at the bottom of the 
page. (The reporting and approving are of great im- 
portance.) The teacher meets with these assistants, 
listens, and gives advice daily. These meetings impress 
the school; they may be very short. The teacher de- 
livers the opinion of his assistants when he discusses a 
case of disorder. As to the selection of these assistants 
there are several methods: some prefer to appoint them; 
some to have them elected; the teacher might try both 
methods. The term of office is usually one week, but 
then the same pupil is eligible for election for a second 
term. 

H. Novelty must be regarded as one of the strong 
influences in creating an interest in the school. No 
matter how good a plan has been employed in hearing 
the arithmetic lesson, the wise teacher will devise an- 
other in a short time; then he may return to the first 
one. A child was shown a picture of heaven; figures 
were on settees engaged in singing. She looked at it 
steadily and remarked, " I should get tired of doing 
that all the time.^^ The attraction of the old-time 
" spelling school ^^ was not in the spelling but in the 
novelty of choosing sides, etc. Bearing this in mind, 
the wise teacher will devise new ways of carrying for- 
ward the school work. 

/. There are numerous ohjeds that can be employed 
to create an interest which can then be transferred to 
the teacher, the school, and its exercises. These ob- 
jects may be exhibited before school to the early comers, 
who will group themselves around the teacher's desk; 



1 6 How to be a Stu:cessful Teachef. 

or during school hours as themes for lessons. We pro- 
pose here the first use. In The Teachers^ Institute^ a 
few years ago^ the question was asked^ " What objects 
may the teacher employ at his desk to interest a group 
of pupils before school? ^^ and many were suggested, 
one teacher giving the names of forty she had employed. 
A few of these will be named here: 

Photographs of the teacher's home, or of the school 
she attended or taught, also of her former pupils, or 
of her parents and relatives. These possess a great in- 
terest to young people. 

Photographs of places, noted persons, animals, etc. 

Pressed flowers or grasses gathered in special places, 
as the grave of Washington, Longfellow, etc. 

Minerals, as ores of gold, silver, lead, zinc, etc. 

Myrrh, camphor, gum arable, sponge, etc., etc. 

Only a few of these objects should be shown at a time; 
the teacher should be ready to talk well about them; 
and having given a little talk (two minutes) she will 
turn to one of the pupils and ask him to tell what he 
has gathered for his museum; for the pupils love to 
talk, possibly better than to hear talking. In after- 
years the pupils will remember these ^^ precious morn- 
ing talks.^^ 

J. The condition of the building may be a source of 
interest. Too often the school-room is repulsive, but 
against this the teacher must set her face as a flint. In 
The Teachers^ Institute an account is given of the trans- 
formation effected by a new teacher. '' Every point was 
repulsive and dilapidated, but I had courage. I had 
a plank walk laid to the road; the outhouses were 



How to be a Successful Teacher. 17 

screened by evergreen trees; the rough walls v/ere 
whitewashed; the desks were scraped and varnished; 
the stove was blackened; the floor was made clean, and 
a number of bright pictures hung up; later on, the 
boys gathered evergreens and made a cornice around 
the entire room, and formed the word Welcome on the 
wall. I had some flowers on my table daily until snow 
fell. The effect of these simple changes was beyond 
my expectations. The children had a song, ' Our beau- 
tiful, beautiful School,^ and they felt that the room 
deserved the praises given to it.^^ 

The influence of such surroundings can never be fully 
estimated; children are more susceptible to them than 
adults. Insensibly they want to assemble in places 
where beauty is manifest; they come to love everything 
connected with them. I^o matter how plain the school- 
house, it is the teacher^s duty to do something to re- 
deem its unloveliness; what she does will make its ap- 
pearance in the habits and mode of thought of the 
pupils afterwards. 

K. Public exercises and entertainments, if properly 
planned and managed, will center an interest in and 
around the teacher and the school. A teacher in a dis- 
trict school in Onondaga County had planned an asso- 
ciation to hold evening exercises; the pupils brought 
candles which were set on wooden blocks into which 
three nails had been partly driven; compositions were 
read and '^pieces" declaimed. Among the auditors 
was a la'rge boy from the adjoining district who was 
so impressed that he decided upon going to school if 
this teacher would tak^ him; he afterwards became a 



1 8 How to be a Successful Teacher. 

preacher of more than average ability^ and often re- 
ferred in the pulpit to the exercises in the " Adelphi 
Lycenm ^^ in the Gaylord district. 

GOVERNMENT. 

3. Power of Government. — There will be many teach- 
ers who will say they can interest but cannot govern. 
Government means maintaining a state of order. For 
example^, the government of the United States aims at 
the maintenance of order^ so that business can be trans- 
acted without hindrance. The order^ by the govern- 
ment, that those driving horses shall turn to the right 
when they meet is an example. The teacher must not 
conceive of government in the school as being the re- 
sult of fear of him, but the result of his ingenious 
planning that all the movements and operations are 
done so as not to interfere with school work. 

A mechanical illustration is seen in the housekeeper 
who places the chairs, tables, books, etc., in their proper 
places after they are misplaced. A better illustration is 
seen in the military officer as he drills his soldiers; he ex- 
amines the guns, the belts, the shoes, the clothing (even 
the buttons), to see that all are in proper order; he 
requires a certain position of the body; that a certain 
thing be done at a certain command, etc. The perfect 
order is the result of attending to the doing of a num- 
ber of small things. It is, therefore, most important in 
managing a school that the teacher should have a con- 
ception of order as the result of the performance at the 
proper time and in the proper icay of the numerous small 



How to be a SUUe^^fut Teacher. t^ 

things that must be done; this he must rightly conceive 
of and communicate to the pupils^ and drill them until 
they perform their part with readiness. 

A school was visited where the pupils were given a 
recess; on returning to the room they made consid- 
erable noise, and the teacher said, in a fault-finding 
tone, '' I have told you over and over to come in quietly 
and you make just as much noise as ever/^ Now, a 
skilful teacher would have planned (a) that all would 
have been got into a line at the first bell; (h) that they 
should march in one at a time at the second bell; {c) 
that they should have been drilled in walking lightly 
on the floor on the occasion of every entrance. Had 
all these points been attended to and the pupils exer- 
cised until precision was attained, the return of the 
pupils would have given them and the teacher pleasure. 

The teacher was to blame; he did not comprehend 
that attention to details and a drill on these details is 
necessary to good order. Scolding will not bring about 
good order; good-natured drill on the details will. Take 
the case of going out at recess time; in one school the 
teacher rapped and said, '^ Boys may go out.^^ At once 
there was a rush for the door. This made the teacher 
angry; he said, ^^ If you go out like that you won't get 
any recess; now try it again in a decent way.'^ Of 
course they did not rush as before, bu.t they received 
no discipline. In another school where there were 
four rows of seats (eight rows of pupils), the teacher had 
placed these figures on the board, 1, 4, 6, 8, 2, 5, 3, 7; 
tapping lightly with a pencil he pointed to the figures 
and, raising his hand, the pupils in rows 1 and -1 stood 



20 How to be a Successful Teacher. 

up; at a gesture they started in military order for the 
door; this being accomplished^ he raised his hand and 
rows 6 and 8 stood up and watched for the gesture 
that would start them towards the door; in a similar 
way the others were disposed of; not a word was spoken. 
This teacher clearly conceived of what good order con- 
sisted; did no scolding or fault-finding, but enough 
drilling to cause the movements to be made with ease. 

It must be borne in mind that this precision of move- 
ment has a most excellent effect on the studies and the 
character; other ends are reached besides the order and 
quietness which are the immediate ends. 

4. A Program is Essential. — The order of exercises 
should be fixed upon at once; a program can be pre- 
pared before the first day and written upon the black- 
board or, better, on a sheet of Manila paper and placed 
where all can see it. A small call-bell should be on 
the teacher's desk; a stroke on this brings the first class 
to their feet, a second stroke moves them towards the 
recitation-bench. In a good school the teacher's voice 
is not heard except in teaching or in giving new direc- 
tions. Some teachers put the call-bell in the hands of 
a pupil who acts as assistant and watches the clock, 
thus relieving the teacher of care in that respect. 

A program having been fixed upon, it should be rig- 
idly followed. When the minute for closing a recitation 
has arrived the operations of the class should stop at 
once. Many give out the lesson that is to follow when 
the class assembles. The whole of the exercises in a well- 
ordered school will follow a fixed order. For example: 
in the writer's school at 8:55 the assembly bell was 



How to be a Successful Teacher. jji 

rung; two pupil-assistants came forward to mark the 
attendance; at 8:58 the order bell was struck once and 
silence began; a pupil sat at the piano (the pages of 
the music had previously been selected and written on 
the blackboard); at 9:00 the piano-keys were struck and 
a few measures played^ then all joined in a morning 
hymn; then the teacher read a few verses from the 
Bible; then all chanted the Lord's Prayer; then a 
stanza of a hymn was sung^ then a stanza of some secu- 
lar piece; then the call-bell brought out the first class 
and the school work began. 

The special point to be noted concerning the above is 
that the teacher^s voice would not be heard in giving 
directions^ commanding this and forbidding that. At 
the very outset events succeeded each other in an or- 
derly manner and a powerful impression was made to de 
orderly. 

5. Self-control is a most essential element in the 
teacher in the production of order. ^^ Those who would 
govern others must first learn to govern themselves " is 
a very ancient maxim. By self-control more is meant 
than restraint from speaking when a rule is broken^ or 
the non-display of anger when insolent words or acts 
are indulged in. The teacher needs the cultivation that 
comes from a knowledge of respect for social customs. 
If he treats his pupils as though worthy of respect he 
will receive the same treatment in return. One teacher, 
who was very successful with rough boys, said: " I treat 
them in the school-room as I would in their parents^ 
parlor.^^ While the teacher may rightly assume to have 
authority over his pupils, they will recognize that au- 



25 How to he a Successful Teacher. 

thority with cheerfulness if they feel he is indeed their 
superior. This he will make appear by a frank^ digni- 
fied^ cultivated^ and gentlemanly demeanor. Upon all 
the points embraced in this there is not room to en- 
large; two or three will be referred to: 

A cultivated person loohs into the eyes of the person 
he is addressing. The pupils will measure up the men- 
tal strength of the teacher by the look of the eyes. It 
is one of the traits of youth to want to look into the 
eyes of a stranger; a steady^ clear, unfaltering and self- 
poised bearing of the eye impresses respect, confidence, 
and mastery. Note the persistent gaze of even a very 
young child upon a stranger. At the very outset, then, 
the teacher should look his pupils kindly but steadily in 
the eye. 

The pupils were assembled in a district school-house 
on the first morning of the new term, when a young 
man entered and, advancing to the desk, pulled out a 
stout ruler and gave a loud rap. '^ Stop this gabble and 
get your seats; school will soon open,^^ was the greeting 
he gave them. The older pupils were hurt because of 
non-recognition; they were displeased with the lack of 
decent manners; they were disposed to resist or impede 
the order, and repeating his words in their homes 
created an unfavorable impression of him there. 

The next year another teacher entered; he looked 
around, and fixing his eye on one of the older girls, the 
apparent leader, he advanced pleasantly and said, 
" Won't you shake hands with your new teacher? '^ He 
engaged her in conversation and suggested she should 
introduce some of the pupils. As he took their hands 



How to be a Successful Teacher. 23 

he looked each steadily, kindly, but searchingly in the 
eye. He asked an older boy to write down their names; 
he, meanwhile, looking them in the eye and speaking 
pleasantly to them. A boy who was rather troublesome 
kept in the background; obtaining his name the teacher 
called to him pleasantly, had him sit beside him, and 
exerted himself to impress kindness, consideration, and 
mastery. When school was opened all would have con- 
fessed to a liking for the new teacher; at the same time 
there was a recognition that he understood himself and 
them. 

The teacher stands in the focus of the school, and 
his manners and bearing make deep impressions. 
Hence, he must care for his clothing; neatness, clean- 
liness, and wholesomeness must be his characteristics. 
All of these bear witness to cultivation, to superiority 
and authority. 

6. Industry is as Essential as Good Order. — Good order 
and industry are the two main features to be sought for 
in a successful school. But these in a certain sense are 
in opposition to the state of mind most children pos- 
sess; they must be trained to order and industry. The 
question of motives must be considered — that is, the in- 
fluences that cause the pupil to be orderly and indus- 
trious. 

INCENTIVES. 

There will be in the pupil's mind some influence 
that causes him to observe the requirements of the 
teacher. In the case last cited the teacher attempted to 
put his approbation of good conduct as a motive; the 



24 How to he a Successful Teacher. 

more noble the teacher the more will his approbation 
be coveted and sought for. We shall here cite the in- 
centives which may rightly be employed in school; 
these bear not only on the production of order and in- 
dustry, but on good conduct in general: 

(1) Desire for good standing; (2) for approbation; (3) 
for knowledge; (4) for efficiency; (5) for self-mastery; 
(6) for future good; (7) the sense of honor; (8) determi- 
nation to do right; (9) to do one's duty. 

7. Application of Incentives. — Let us suppose the 
reading class is before the teacher. What motive can 
be aroused in them to cause each to do his best? One 
pupil has read a sentence or paragraph and the teacher 
remarks that it is poor, good, or excellent reading, as 
the case may be. This denotes the rank or standing of 
the pupil's work. Some employ figures to denote stand- 
ing, and a pupil is classified accordingly. Effects of 
magnitude are produced by this system; it is not wholly 
injurious, but it must not be the sole reliance of the 
teacher. 

The teacher may remark, after the reading, that he 
is much pleased; this is a strong incentive with young 
pupils, and with those who recognize the teacher as a 
competent critic of reading. 

The teacher may remark that the reader is making 
progress, or that he has become a good reader and will 
be able to give pleasure to others; he may appoint him 
to read at some public exercise or entertainment. This 
becomes a strong incentive not only to the pupil him- 
self, but to al] the rest. 

The teacher may remark that the pupil is mastering 



How to be a Successful Teacher. ^g 

the difficulties in the way of expression by reading; 
this would apply mainly to the older pupils. Here the 
teacher appeals to self-approval; he wishes the pupil to 
know that he has grounds for approving of his own 
work. This would be the result of honest effort, of con- 
scientious devotion to a study of the text and attempt- 
ing to expound its meaning. 

The teacher may remark that the pupil has become 
able to read effectively and thus may make his way in 
the world. While this may apply only to older pupils, 
it is, and ought to be, an effective motive. The teacher 
will find that many a pupil drops out of the higher 
classes because he sees no relation between the studies 
pursued in them and the busy world where he must 
earn his living. 

In the conduct of the reading class the teacher will 
appeal to the sense of duty or of right. It may be tire- 
some to sit and hear a dozen others read the same 
paragraph; the teacher must admit this. Oftentimes 
the method employed by the teacher is faulty and does 
not embrace all the class, possibly only the very 
poorest; the others feel that their time is wasted and 
their thoughts are put on other matters than the read- 
ing. Here the pupil must be influenced by the sense 
of duty — to give attention because he ought. The 
teacher must bear this incentive in mind and strive to 
nourish what is often a very weak motive. He should 
have the attention of all in the class; he cannot com- 
mand it; the sense of duty in the pupil controls it. 

What has been said of incentives in the reading class 
will apply to the entire school. The teacher must con- 



26 How to be a Successful Teacher. 

tinually inquire into the motives that influence his 
pupils. He may employ the lower or the higher in- 
centives; the best teacher gradually brings the pupil 
under the influence of the higher ones. 

An academy was surrounded on three sides by a fine 
orchard^ and in the autumn many complaints were made 
by the owner that fruit was taken by the pupils without 
permission. The principal^ who was a clergyman, had 
earnestly endeavored to stop these depredations, but 
without success. A new principal determined to appeal 
wholly to the higher motives. He proposed the ques- 
tions: "Ought we not to keep away from Mr. Clark's 
orchard even if there were no fence? Are we going to 
accustom ourselves to do what we admit we ought not 
to do? *^ He said he would forbid no one to go into the 
orchard, that their sense of right must be the control- 
ling influence. His effort was to develop their sense of 
what they owed to tliemselves as duty; he was successful 
because he knew how to reach this noble object. 

8. Fear and Shame. — Many teachers rely on fear and 
shame to attain order or application to study; once 
these were the sole reliance. A school was visited 
where a pupil was seen sitting under the teacher's 
desk — he had whispered; another was in a dark corner 
partially covered by a suspended cloak — she had eaten 
an apple. 

A woman of much experience and possessing good 
scholastic qualifications was found to be exceedingly 
unpopular. The principal visited her class in algebra; 
a large boy was sent to the blackboard to perform a 
problem; upon his failure she called up the smallest 



How to be a Successful Teacher. 27 

girl; this pupil being successful^ she remarked, '^ I 
should think a big boy like you would be ashamed to 

have a little girl like beat you in the class! '' Upon 

further visits the principal found this teacher employ- 
ing only fear and shame — fear of low marks or of being 
kept after school, or the shame arising from not being 
as intellectually competent as others. She seemed to 
forget that both of these made study repulsive. 

A little thought will convince the teacher that every 
effort must be made to render the school and all the 
studies as attractive as possible. The way of the 
teacher last mentioned could not but prejudice the boy 
against the study of algebra. 

9. Self-government. — Before proceeding further with 
the discussion of government it will be essential to con- 
sider the second of the two ends aimed at by govern- 
ment; the first is the accomplishment of school work; 
the second is the construction of a self-governing 
human being. If the pupil learns all his lessons and 
recites them perfectly and is not a self-governing being, 
he is uneducated; the great results hoped for have not 
been realized. So when young men in college play the 
fool by driving a cow into the recitation-room it is 
justly felt that self-control would be of greater value 
to them than even profound knowledge of Latin and 
Greek. The test of education is self-government; hence 
this must be the aim of the teacher, — not alone good 
order, but good order produced by the pupils them- 
selves. 

To illustrate this I will portray the grammar depart- 
ment of a school of 150 pupils where a principal (with 



28 How to be a Successful Teacher. 

two assistants) was obliged to be absent frequently to 
superintend other departments. A visitor coming before 
school would find a pupil (N'o. 1) was giving oversight 
to those in the yard; another (No. 2) was watching the 
clock and striking the bell at the proper minute^ mark- 
ing the attendance^ collecting excuses; another (No. 
3) was arranging for the music. The opening exercises 
over^ No. 2 would distribute the classes (every pupil 
having the program); if the principal was not ^^ at 
class/^ the " class head '^ would begin the recitation; 
if a visitor called, No. 2 would take charge of him and 
pilot him to the proper class. One of the pupils re- 
maining in the main room would strike the bell sum- 
moning the classes to return; No. 3 would select a 
piece of music and play on the piano; the principal or 
the assistant teachers would assume the direction at 
any point where they felt it was needed. The assistant 
pupils (called first officer and second officer) had seats 
on the platform and consulted with the teachers if nec- 
essary. Thus the machinery was in their hands; they 
felt responsible for its running smoothly. These assist- 
ants were selected weekly; not the best behaved and 
the most moral were chpsen, but those who had effi- 
ciency. 

A little thought will show that a school might have 
this mechanical constitution and still not develop self- 
government. Self-government in a school is only pos- 
sible where there is a consolidation or unity of thought 
The case of the church organized by the clergyman will 
illustrate this. Before his advent the people were units; 
had separate thoughts and purposes. Now they act as 



How to be a Successful Teacher. 29 

a church, as a dody; they have passed to a stage of 
organized existence. Men may come and men may go, 
but that church will live on; it has acquired power by 
unifying the thoughts, hopes, and feelings of those who 
attend it. 

A, Unifying the School — The teacher who steps into 
his school-room feeling that he is simply the head of a 
tody existing there, and that the pupils form parts of 
that body and are as essential as he is, and that both 
must work together, that the life of this body is made 
up from the life of each being there — such a teacher 
places his pupils higher than mere reciters of lessons, 
and the pupils feel themselves essential to the well- 
being of the school; they feel that order, industry, self- 
denial, good example, helpfulness, and good behavior 
are essential, and they contribute these willingly for the 
general benefit. 

B. Organizing the School — The effort of every skilful 
teacher is to organize his school, to have the pupils feel 
they are parts of a living body. Among the means to 
bring about this essential condition will be a constant 
consultation with the pupils concerning the general 
affairs of the school. The teacher cannot enforce regu- 
lations successfully that are opposed by the general 
public opinion; this cannot be done outside of the 
school-room, nor can it be done within it. Hence, he 
must strive to have the public opinion of the school on 
his side. 

A young man took charge of a school where there 
had been so much trouble arising from the ^^ no whis- 
pering '^ rule that the trustees advised him not to make 



30 How to be a Successful Teacher, 

this regulation. He presented the matter to the school 
and argued with the older pupils so efJectively that 
they assented to the existence of such a rule; the trus- 
tees were displeased and came to the school to demand 
that he rescind it, and were surprised when the teacher 
asked those to rise who were in favor of such a regula- 
tion to see the entire school rise. Of course they had 
nothing further to say. This was rather an extraordi- 
nary case; it exemplifies the position taken that the 
good teacher feels he must have the pupils with him in 
his efforts to attain order. It by no means detracts 
from the dignity of the teacher that he consults with 
his pupils. 

A teacher found that no provision had been made for 
cleaning the school-room; in fact, heretofore it was 
rarely done. He appointed a committee to consider 
and report upon the matter; they reported that the 
first class should take turns in sweeping out the room; 
it was discussed by this class and assented to. In this 
case, neither the teacher nor the trustees could have 
ordered the pupils to SAveep the room. (Such difficul- 
ties have arisen over the sweeping of the room that 
teachers are advised to have an understanding with the 
officials concerning the matter when the contract is 
made.) 

The teacher who has his pupils with him can be al- 
most as arbitrary as he pleases; how to consolidate the 
public opinion and render it favorable to his methods 
and regulations will, therefore, be a matter of thought- 
ful consideration. Not only must there be general 
consultation, but individual consultation also. The 



How to be a Successful Teacher. 31 

teacher must be quick to see who the leaders are^ and 
turn to them and lean on them; not to recognize the 
leaders will be a great mistake. It is the opinion of 
the leaders among the pupils that settles the question 
of his popularity and of his success^ in a large measure; 
and this is not always the best scholar by any means. 
If the school has been organized, the pupils look to the 
teacher as the head, they take their opinions from him, 
they think as he does, they want to do as he directs. 
He now is able to develop self-government; he attempts 
every day to throw the responsibility for the order and 
industry on them. 

Suppose there is disorder at the recess; he calls at- 
tention to it, and appoints some one to note the causes. 
One pupil is reported as having rough ways; he is re- 
quested to stay in and take his recess afterward. This 
change has been made upon the report of some of the 
pupils; they feel that their opinion counts in the man- 
agement; they assent to the punishment inflicted on 
the offending pupil. 

C. Individual Self-government. — We have spoken of 
collective self-government, but this tends to develop 
individual self-government; both are needed in a 
school; the latter is the crowming glory of a genuine 
education. There must be positive and persistent 
means employed to develop individual mastery. A 
teacher saw a pupil eating an apple slyly behind his 
books; he said nothing at the time, but afterward ask- 
ing attention, he said, " Do 3^011 think George Washing- 
ton, Abraham Lincoln, or any really great man when 
he was a boy at school hid behind a book to eat an 



32 How to be a Successful Teacher. 

apple? Do you think a boy who does this will ever have 
any high or honorable position in life pressed on him? 
If he knew just what rank such an act gave hiim in 
school I doubt whether he would do it/' 

A few well-chosen words at the right time, spoken 
with a proper spirit, will develop thoughtfulness con- 
cerning conduct and lay the basis of self-government. 

10. Discussion of Principles. — Individual self-govern- 
ment is immensely aided by a discussion of principles 
by the pupils. The teacher is too apt to rely on his 
remarks concerning the morality of certain acts. He 
forgets that the greater j^art of his words receive no 
consideration whatever. The pupil himself must be 
led to think and talk about right, wrong, and duty. 

A teacher in one of the public schools of IN'ew York 
had many newsboys, bootblacks, and market helpers 
among his pupils. He told an incident in which a boy 
paused at a fruit-stand that had been left by the owner 
for a few minutes, but went on without taking any- 
thing. The teacher asked, '' ^Miat do you think of 
him?'' 

" I think he was a fool," said one. 

^^And so wise boys steal; is that a fact?" said the 
teacher. 

He allowed each to give his opinion, adroitly drew 
out the views of those opposed to stealing, and finally 
developed the unanimous conclusion that the boy had 
acted wisely. 

Now it is plain that a conclusion reached by one's 
own observation will form a more stable part of one's 
creed than an abstract statement made by an uninter- 



How to he a Successful Teacher. 33 

ested outsider. Hence, discussions of rules should be 
encouraged; it is a good thing to have the opponents 
of a measure give their arguments. The pupils learn 
that there are solid reasons for a certain mode of con- 
duct, and thus lay a firm basis for self-government. 

11. School Government Continued. — We now see that 
the skilful teacher rests the government of the school 
in and on the pupils themselves; he, on his part, de- 
veloping in them the power to govern it properly. (To 
correct possible misapprehension it may be stated that 
it is not meant that the school should be made a minia- 
ture republic; a few would succeed in this, the majority 
would fail.) 

Rules. — Very few rules should be made. A teacher 
announced on the first morning: " There is to be no 
whispering here.'^ He had scarcely uttered the word 
before he saw a pupil whisper to another; he called up 
the offender, and was only restrained from inflicting 
punishment by the fear of the talk that might be cre- 
ated in the district. He might have said, " I hope we 
shall have no whispering.^^ This would have left him 
free. 

Whispering. — Many teachers aim to exterminate 
whispering; it is best treated as disorder, or disturb- 
ance of good order. The really skilful teacher does not 
concern himself with whispering; he gives plenty of 
occupation; he encourages each to mind his own affairs; 
not to disturb others; to strive for order and quiet. 

The writer, after years of experience, found the best 
plan was to develop self-government and then leave the 
whispering with the pupils. His practice was to allow 



34 How to be a Successful Teacher. 

them to do anything that would not interfere with 
others or prevent them from accomplishing their own 
allotted work. 

Disobedience. — There will be in every school some 
who for various reasons refuse to do as commanded. 
To manage cases of disobedience demands a high de- 
gree of skill; oftentimes^ for lack of skill, the entire 
school becomes involved and excited over a matter small 
at the outset. A teacher saw some bits of paper near 
a girFs desk; she pointed to them and said, '^ Pick them 
up.^^ At the close of the recitation she saw them still 
on the floor and drew out her watch and said, " I give 
you one minute to pick up those pieces.^^ But the pupil 
did not yield. Kow the teacher had made a mistake by 
commanding what she could not enforce. She became 
angry and spoke violently; the entire school was ex- 
cited; the occasion left a bad impression against the 
teacher. 

Another teacher, seeing Frank disturbing his seat- 
mate, told him to stand on the floor; a short time 
elapsed and he saw Frank still in his seat. Knowing 
the lad to be a good boy he saw he had a case of stub- 
bornness to deal with. He determined to obtain obe- 
dience, but not to have a struggle. " I thought I told 
Frank to stand on the floor; did I not? [Several 
assented.] I suppose Frank did not want to do it. If 
I had told him to come up and take a piece of candy 
from my desk he would have done that quickly. I 
thought Frank was a boy that would do a disagreeable 
thing when it was his duty. Is there any other boy 
here whose rule is not to do what he doesn't like to do? 



How to be a Successful Teacher. 35 

There is [one of the large boysj; let us try him. 

Come and stand on the floor, John. [It was done.] 
I don't believe there is any one else besides Frank. He 
will think better of it; we shall be very very much dis- 
appointed if he does not take his place on the floor. It 
is now recess time; I shall not keep him in. He must 
remember that all this school expects him to do his 
duty.'' After the pupils returned, while the next class 
was in progress, Frank took the floor. The teacher re- 
marked, '^ Frank has done a noble act; he had his temp- 
tation; he yielded; he had thought better of it; every 
one here honors him for doing not as lie wanted but as 
his teacher wanted him to do." 

These two incidents are given to show how an un- 
pleasant struggle may be brought on and Iiow avoided. 
A small matter, hardly worth stopping the machinery 
for a minute, has, by bad management, been the means 
of destroying the happiness and good feeling of the 
school not only, but that of the entire district for a long 
period. 

But in the best of schools there will be infraction of 
rules, disobedience, sometimes insolence. The teacher 
must impress the pupils with the fact that he will do 
something to make them regret their misconduct; this 
is generally what is meant by punishment. 

12. Punishments. — As the teacher must punish, let 
us consider the objects, the mode, and the conditions of 
punishments. Take wilful disorder for an example. 
The pupil persists in it; the teacher believes punish- 
ment will benefit the pupil, cause him to control him- 
self; possibly he believes it will* restrain others; and 



36 How to be a Successful Teacher. 

he may feel that it will impress the school mth the 
fact that he is master and they are under his authority. 
What shall it be? Once, whipping was the only mode 
of punishment employed, but it is rapidly disappearing 
from the schools and in a quarter of a century will be 
little used. 

A. Disphasure. — ^We have spoken of the importance 
of unifying the school — of making it a community; 
the skilful teacher will bring the influence of the school 
to bear on the offender. Let us suppose it to be posi- 
tive disobedience. Where the offender can be made to 
feel that his conduct displeases the entire school, he is 
punished; this is the natural result of his wrongdoing. 
This is the method society takes with those who misuse 
their liberty. The teacher can bring his school into 
such a unity that his displeasure will be the expression 
of the displeasure of all; just as in the world outside of 
his school a wrong act arouses the displeasure of a com- 
munity. A pupil is idle; shall the teacher say, " James, 
/ do not like to see you idle '^; or shall he say, " ^Ye 
shall see the results of your idleness when the class 
meets.^' 

B. Deprivation. — The punishment should bear a re- 
lation to the offence. A pupil misuses his knife — it is 
taken away; he is boisterous at recess — ^he takes his re- 
cess after the rest, etc. 

C. Reproof. — There will be reproof in displeasure, 
but here is meant that statement in public or private of 
the wrongdoing and of its consequences; some are very 
successful in administering this in private. It is some- 



How to be a Successful Teacher. 37 

times best to do this in public. The pupil must feel 
that the teacher is absolutely devoid of all unkindness. 
D. Scolding is the meanest and worst kind of all pun- 
ishments. The teacher who indulges in it will not effect 
a reform^ but will arouse bad and often revengeful feel- 
ings. 

F. Losing Distinction. — Many teachers keep an 
" honor roll ^^ on which are placed the names each week 
of all whose conduct reaches a certain standard — say 
not below 3 in a scale of 5. If this is fairly handled it 
may be a great power. There are teachers who have 
given a '^ merit ^' for an orange brought to them, or a 
" demerit '' because of '^ making a face "! Some, at the 
close of the session^ ask those to rise who believe they 
deserve to be on the roll; if the claim of one is ques- 
tioned it is left to be discussed. In villages these rolls 
are often published in the weekly newspaper. The 
standard must be one that the majority can reach. 

G, Detention, — If a pupil is idle he may be made to 
study after school. " Keeping in '' is universally prac- 
ticed; it should be only sparingly employed. In a cer- 
tain school some pupils were detained every night; they 
expected it and neglected their lessons accordingly. 
The next teacher aimed to keep in only those who 
wanted further instruction; they could stay or not, as 
they chose. In a short time the new order of things 
superseded the old and the school was much happier. 

H. Parental Influence. — The writer practiced giving 
weekly " reports " to the parents. Blanks were given 
on Friday to he filled out hy the pupil In substance a 
blank would be as below: 



38 



How to be a Successful Teacher, 



LENOX VALLEY SCHOOL. 

We aim to be Honorable, Industrious, Faithful, Courteous, 
Helpful, and Advancing. 



Report of - 



for lueeh ending 



I have bad lessons in . 



Time lost by 

Tardiness or 

Absence, Minutes. 

Monday 10 

Tuesday — 

Wednesday 5 

Thursday — 

Friday — 



My Conduct on 
Scale of 5. 

5 
5 
5 
5 
5 



Note. — If the teacher disagrees with the pupil's estimate, he will 
give his estimate in red ink. 

The parents are requested to examine the report and to write 
their suggestions on the back. 

The report is to be returned on Monday. 

, Teacher. 

As the report was made out by the pupil little labor 
rested on the teacher. 

On Monday morning the reports will be returned and 
examined by the teacher to note the remarks of the 
parents. In many cases these remarks were read to the 
pupils. Each report was then placed in a large en- 
velope marked with the pupiPs name, and put in the 
teachers desk; at the end of the term they were given 
to him. 



How to be a Successful Teacher. 39 

The ^^ report ^^ might properly be classed as an in- 
centive; I have placed it here because the teacher may 
use it as a punishment for bad conduct. If much is 
said as to the expectation of parents that a good " re- 
port " will be brought home, the pupils will strive for 
a good ^^ report'^; to have the teacher substitute a 2 
for their 5, and be obliged to explain the matter to 
their parents, will be, v/ith the majority, an unpleasant 
occurrence. But to make this effective there must be 
openness, fairness, and strict justice. If the teacher 
with John Smithes report before him says to the 
school, " John has estimated his conduct at ^ Maxi- 
mum^ (5) on Wednesday; is that just? I think not; 
I can only conscientiously give 3. Does any one dis- 
agree with me?^^ this will inspire confidence in his 
judgment and justice. 

13. Teaching. — It seems to the onlooker and to the 
beginner that teaching is the hearing of lessons; even 
those of much experience do no more than hear the 
pupil repeat something he has committed to memory. 
It is of the highest importance that a right conception 
should be obtained of teaching at the very outset. A 
wrong conception will affect the entire set of influences 
that are brought to bear on the pupil. With some 
teachers the paramount thing may consist in giving the 
pupils '' a good time,'' or in preserving military order, 
or in " strictness,'' or in glibness of recitation. 

Teaching is guiding or conducting the pupil f\rom a 
loiver to a higher stage of hnoivledge, thought, and life. 
It is effected by four main influences: (1) by the man- 
nerS;, bearing, education, character, and life of the 



40 How to he a Stcccessful Teacher. 

teacher; (2) hj the intuitional operation of the mind 
of the teacher on the mind of the scholar; (3) by the 
influence of the school as a community; (4) by the 
knowledge gained. It is the second of these we wish 
to discuss now^ and particularly to speak of class teach- 
ing. 

Eightly to conduct a recitation demands much skill. 
Just what the teacher should do or not do^ what the 
pupils should do or not do, are matters that should be 
carefully and thoughtfully studied. The great fault is 
that the teacher goes at the recitation with no special 
thought; he picks up a book, asks some questions, talks 
a good deal, dismisses the class; calls another class, 
which is treated in the same fashion, and thus the day 
goes by. 

THE MECHAXICAL SIDE OE THE RECITATIOX. 

The teacher and the class should come together as if 
something important were going to be done. There is a 
moment or two of silence; the class catch the eye of 
the teacher; they know they are to be summoned; they 
feel they are to meet for mental conflict. A slight sound 
of the call-bell is heard, or there is a tap of a pencil, 
or a gesture only, and the class rise; the books are 
held in the left hand; another sound or gesture, and 
the class move forward to the recitation-bench; a gest- 
ure, and they are seated. Let it be noted that they are 
in an expectant mood; they must not be allowed to sag, 
to droop, to become indifferent. 

The next step must set the pent-up forces in motion. 



How to be a Successful Teacher. 41 

Often the teacher asks, ^^ Where is the lesson?'^ — a ques- 
tion no teacher should ask; it is his business to know 
wliere the lesson is, wJiat it is, and how to teach it. There 
should be no loss of time. In most cases the words of 
the teacher will be, " Begin, James.^^ The pupil rises, 
looks at the teacher, the teacher gives him a reassuring 
glance, and the recitation has started. 

Suppose it be the reading lesson. Often the pupils 
and teacher are but a few feet apart; the pupils acquire 
a low and indistinct tone. The teacher should stand on 
the opposite side of the room; or the pupils may re- 
main in their seats (desks) and three or four pupils 
may be summoned to the platform; one reads and then 
another, etc.; these are followed by another detach- 
ment, and so on. The effort must be to obtain the at- 
tention of all the class upon the reading of each; nat- 
urally those not reading tend to find some object of 
thought foreign to the matter in hand. 

When the reading ceases the pupils are in some 
schools seen to raise their hands and make comments: 
" Read too f ast,'^ " Didn^t stop at the period," etc. 
All this is bad. There should be proper criticism; its 
aim will be to form an ideal of good reading. The 
teacher will question actively, briskly, and intelligently. 

" Wh.j emphasize ? What is meant by ? How 

about the speed? the pitch? the loudness? the quality? 
When a pupil has read fairly well let the teacher say, 
"Well done." This not for praise, but to aid the 
effort of the class to form an ideal of good reading. 

The intention here is not to show how a class in read- 
ing should be conducted; there is not room here for 



42 How to be a Successful Teacher. 

that^ but to give some directions as to the general eon- 
duct of a class. The central aim should be to cause 
advancement. Is it not the case that the teacher too 
often aims onl}^ to perform daily a part of the term's 
task? to hear one of fifty paragraphs read that consti- 
tute the reading book? The attitude^ criticism, and 
movements of the teacher should be such as belong to 
the leader of an advancing column; he at the head of a 
band who think differently and more largely than yes- 
terday. 

We are now concerned with the mechanical part of 
the recitation. The teacher must know liow to teach 
the twelve to fifteen subjects that form the usual 
course — spelling, language, reading, grammar, writing, 
history, physiology, geography, nature, drawing, arith- 
metic, book-keeping, manual training. A great part 
of the time is lost because the teacher does not know 
how to teach subjects which he understands. This 
must be sought for (1) in books; the ^^ How to Teach " 
series will be found invaluable, but there are others; 
(2) by visiting schools where there is good teaching. 

First Aim. — The class must be interested. It is in 
the class that teacher and pupils come face to face; the 
rest of the time the latter are supposed to be engaged in 
study. The entire effort should be to produce a state 
of intense mental activity. They should assemble in a 
state of expectancy; this state should be sustained from 
the beginning to the end. 

Second Aim. — The teacher will endeavor to have 
work done by the entire class; just as if a wall were be- 
ing constructed of bricks and mortar, each helping 



How to he a Successful Teacher, 4$ 

actively, energetically, and willingly. The teacher is 
apt to be thrown off the track by a single pupil who 
has been absent or is idle or dull; but he must leave 
the stragglers and make a forward movement with the 
main army. 

Third Aim. — The endeavor must be to have a 
definite amount of work done each day. Suppose it to be 
in arithmetic; the teacher will for each class have 
marked out in his memorandum book what is to be 
done in each of the 175 or 180 days of the school year. 
(We have seen in teachers^ hands text-books bound 
with blank pages (interleaved) where memoranda were 
made; such are invaluable.) Then the attempt will be 
to do that work, or even more, having previously 
economized time. If ten problems were given for the 
Lesson and the teacher is certain all have been per- 
formed, it will be best to propose a problem involving 
(1) principles they understand, or (2) to illustrate a new 
one. This may have been written beforehand on 
Manila paper or on slated paper. There is often much 
time wasted in giving out a problem orally. One pupil 
may work the problem at the board, or one half of the 
pupils may work on the problem and the other half be 
questioned; then this half have a problem and the 
other half be questioned. 

To have pupils work over simple problems in the 
class that they have worked at their seats, unless to ex- 
emplify an important principle, is not good practice. 
Let the recitation be a place of trial, of effort. 

Fonrth Aim. — The endeavor must 1)0 to spur them to 
make further efforts when they return to their seats. 



44 How to he a Successful Teacher. 

The teacher may have a class before him but a single 
hour during the day; he must so sharpen up their wits 
that they will industriously employ their minds the rest 
of the time. A lifeless recitation will be an injury 
rather than a benefit; let the teacher bear the ball game 
in mind. 

Fifth Aim. — The pupils should do the talking. A 
school was lately visited where the teacher, a normal 
graduate, certainly did three-fourths of the talking. A 
sMlful teacher talks hut little. The teacher should strug- 
gle against the temptation to talk. After a reading the 
teacher may say, " James, you may criticise him.'^ Let 
every class have a leader; to him the teacher gives a 
signal and he starts the work; the teacher spares his 
voice until he can use it to advantage. 

Sixth Aim. — The endeavor must be to produce men- 
tal exhilaration and satisfaction. This is opposed to 
the ^^ grind ^' which so many recitations resemble. A 
skilful teacher can conduct a spelling class of young 
men and women so as to make it intensely interesting. 
There may be need of ^^ drill '* for one, two, or three 
pupils; if so, let the rest of the class have something to 
do that will occupy them profitably; it will be posi- 
tively injurious to require them to watch while the 
most defective ones are '^ drilled.'^ Both teacher and 
pupil should feel at the end of the recitation that they 
have exerted themselves and have accomplished some- 
thing. 

The Teachei^s Position. — It has been said that the 
teacher should always stand during the recitation; but 
this will depend on circumstances: if the class cannot 



How to he a Successful Teacher. 45 

be got into activity without his standings then he must 
stand. Classes of young children need to see the 
teacher on his feet. 

Courtesy.— The pupils should feel that the teacher 
is glad to meet them; they should be greeted with a 
smile; they should be treated with courtesy, with the 
same courtesy he would bestow if in the parlors of the 
parents. 

Neatness, Accuracy, etc. — N"ot long since a school was 
visited where the principal was a college graduate; the 
building was exceptionally handsome, the desks w^ere 
new, but the blackboards were covered w^ith ugly 
scrawls. An example in addition of three numbers cov- 
ered half the wadth of the board; the numbers were 
not parallel, nor close to each other; the line at the 
bottom w^as not short, straight, and parallel with the 
figures; the whole work was rude, crude, and offensive. 
To allow such things is inexcusable. The work of the 
pupil must be his best. Only by doing one's test day by 
day can he be educated. Every figure and line must be 
a worthy one. 

The PupiVs Position. — Let us suppose it is the class 
in arithmetic and that a pupil has solved a problem 
quickly and neatly; he is next called on to " explain.'' 
He takes the pointer in his hand, faces the class, glances 
at the teacher to see if he has his attention, and (1) 
gives the number of the problem; (2) states the steps 
to be taken; (3) points out where these are taken; (4) 
gives the conclusion. Suppose the problem is, " A man 
bought 48 sheep, paying $3 for each, then 34 sheep, 
paying $4 for each, and exchanged these for calves, al- 



46 Hois: to be a Successful Teacher. 

lowing $7 for each; how many calves?'^ The pupil 
having performed it gives the number and says, " The 
first step is to find the total cost of the sheep; then to 
find the number of calves by dividing this total by the 
cost of one calf. The cost of the sheep is $280; the 
number of calves will be 40/^ 

There should be a proper position^ dignity, rapidity, 
accuracy, clear statement, and good reasoning. In nu- 
merous schools visited the pupil faces the ilacJcioard 
instead of the class; he explains as though ashamed; 
consumes much time; stumbles; makes mistakes; fails 
to state icJiy he takes these special steps; and gives no 
conclusion. 

PoinferSy Riibljers, and Blackboard. — Pointers should 
hang on nails driven in the edge of the blackboard three 
feet apart: they can be made of phmed lath, tapering, 
30, 33, or 36 inches long, with a hole in the handle end 
for suspension; they should never be laid in the chalk- 
trough : nothing is more disagreeable to the hands tlian 
a chalk-besmeared pointer. Eubbers can be made of 
lamb-pelt nailed on blocks; the wool of the sheep-pelt 
is too long; but it will be best to buy them. They must 
not be put in the chalk-trough either; they should 
be dusted in the school yard each morning. 

Becitation-benches. — In some schools none are pro- 
vided and the teacher allows the pupil to recite from 
his desk; this has such great disadvantages that it 
should be given up. The pupil should be assigned to 
a certain place in the class, and that place he should 
keep; his place, as a rule, will be the one he can most 
easily reach; some teachers seat the pupils according 



How to be a Successful Teacher. 47 

to size; some let them draw the number of the seat 
once a week. 

Blackloards. — In a good school the blackboards are 
much used. They should be kept clean; if they become 
gray they can be easily and cheaply colored black 
again. To make a blackboard paste stout paper on the 
wall and then put on material (slating) to be bought 
at most bookstores. 

14. The Educational Side of the Recitation. — Here 
the word " Education " is used in its broad sense; the 
effort of humanity since the dawn of creation has been 
fo comprehend its surroundings. Whence came I? Who 
created me? Whence do I go? What is this world 
around me? are questions he has sought to answer; to 
answer them he turns for light to those older and wiser, 
to past generations. The teacher is the person who de- 
votes himself to the work of interpreting their sur- 
roundings to youth. This is a many-sided work. Look 
for example at parents who employ no teacher; besides 
teaching them to read and compute they give instruc- 
tion in a great variety of matters comprehended in the 
term " bringing up.^^ If the work of a genuine teacher 
is analyzed it will be seen to consist of seven elements. 

1. There are certain arts mankind has discovered by 
means of which civilization was attained. These are 
writing, computation, the manipulation of cloth, wood, 
metal, clay, leather, paper, stone, etc. Schools were at 
first mainly engaged on the first two; the parents taught 
them the other arts. 

2. There is a great quantity of knowledge needed in 
the business of life to be learned. This gathered under 



48 How to be a Successful Teacher, 

titles of geography, geology, botany, chemistry, history, 
etc., becomes an essential part of school work. 

3. The mental and bodily powers must be trained. 

4. The child is a social being; he must learn how to 
treat others. 

5. The Creator meant joy and happiness to exist in 
the world; the teacher must take this into daily and 
hourly consideration. 

6. It has ever been noted that youth set up ideals 
and shape themselves in accordance with them. The 
teacher will present just ideals and encourage the real- 
ization of them. 

7. There is such a thing as truth; it is a perception 
of our relation to the universe; this enables us to pass 
from lower to higher stages of thought and life and is 
an element essential to the school-room. 

15. A More Particular Statement. — 1. The school 
will necessarily give much time to reading, spelling, 
writing, composition, and arithmetic; they are the arts 
of civilization, the means by which man lives a larger 
life. The skilful teacher studies methods to shorten the 
time of learning these arts; to interest his pupils in 
acquiring them. The great things in our present state 
of civilizatioil are power to read, to write, and to com- 
pute; let the pupil read with a pen in his hand. 

It is by no means easy to teach reading so that the 
whole energy of the child is given to the employment. 
He should read much; have several First Eeaders, have 
suitable magazines and story books, so that he walk 
easily and delightedly in this new field. x\s soon as he 
can read be should be taught to write, and encouraged 



How to be a Successful Teacher. 40 

and helped to write in short sentences about the things 
lie sees and does. In this way the mechanical skill re- 
quired in writing will be acquired and not present itself 
as a barrier when he undertakes to express himself. 
Expression will be the main^ the leading feature, not 
the penmanship. He must learn to think with the pen. 

Children go to school and learn to read and write, 
but do not read and write when they come home; they 
have the means of intellectual movement, but still re- 
main unprogressive. They have been poorly taught; 
reading and writing are burdens, not wings. We urge 
every teacher to study the child and try to understand 
how reading and writing (written language) can be ac- 
quired so as to increase the child's iiower; they may be 
momentous influences in reality. 

2. Knowledge studies add to the amount known. 
There are three great subjects: the earth, people, and 
things. Earth study will embrace geography, plants, 
animals, minerals, land, and water. People study will 
embrace physiology, history, countries, cities, manu- 
factures, governments, great events, great men's discov- 
eries, and inventions. Thing study will embrace 
physics, chemistry, etc. These are all taught in the high 
school, but appropriate parts should be selected for the 
primary and grammar-school classes. 

Besides, general information must be given. For ex- 
ample, there are about 2000 names of which the gram- 
mar-school pupil should know something (a list ap- 
eared in The Teachers^ Institute in 1900), as Washing- 
ton, Tennyson, Scott, Alexander, Aristotle, etc. Know-* 
ing something about these marks the ^' well-Liformed 



5o How to he a Successful Teacher, 

man/^ Men like AYashington^ Lincoln^ Gladstone, were 
of this class. The teacher who plans aright can make 
the school familiar more or less with 2000 names in a 
year. A biographical dictionary should be upon his 
desk; ten names may be assigned^ one to each pupil of 
the " first class/^ When the time comes a pupil arises 
and says, '' Tennyson was an English poet; wrote the 
' Charge of the Light Brigade.^ ^^ This would be a sim- 
ple, bare outline. If time permitted, other pupils would 
add other particulars, possibly a quotation from his 
poems. The objection will be made that there is not 
time for such things, that the arithmetic class will be 
neglected. Arithmetic must truly stand first in im- 
portance; but if the pupil's mental powers are invig- 
orated by interesting knowledge he will learn arithmetic 
more quickly and easily. An arithmetic class taught by 
a skilful teacher will, in a short time, be got '^ on its 
feet,^' and often be able to omit being called to the reci- 
tation-benches; thus time will be gained. 

The teacher may gather questions and put in his 
memorandum book, and these he may put on cards and 
assign to pupils to report upon; or he may have a 
'' question box,'' into which the pupils may drop ques- 
tions on cards, and these may be assigned. Any good 
plan followed persistently will add information that 
will broaden the horizon of the pupils. A caution must 
be given, and this is that the time be not wasted on 
knotty questions; these are often given to pupils by 
some person in the district in order to '' stump the 
* teacher.^' He can simply say, ^^ That is an interesting 
question, but is not suitable for us.^^ Another cau- 



How to be a Successful Teacher. 51 

tion would be to avoid miscellaneousness. Let the in- 
formation pertain to the subjects studied; thus Tenny- 
son, Scott, Aristotle, etc., pertain to history; Jerusalem, 
Cairo, etc., to geography. Most teachers aim only to 
have (1) language and numbers learned, (2) and to im- 
part a limited amount of knowledge; but mental train- 
ing is a most important part of their work. In college, 
in later years, geometry is employed wholly to train in 
reasoning. 

Omitting a discussion of mental training, we will 
refer now briefly to personal habits. 1. There must be 
cleanliness of the hands, shoes, and clothing, etc. A 
girls' school was visited in ^ew York where every pupil 
laid her hands each morning on the teacher's desk for 
inspection; the teacher had three boxes, and from them 
selected a number which told the pupil her opinion; 
not a word was said. 2. A morning and evening salu- 
tation. 3. Proper position of the hands, feet, and body. 
S. H. Taylor, so noted as a teacher of Latin in Phillips 
Academy, attended strictly to the position of the 
pupil. It was a part of his teaching. 4. A good bear- 
ing of the person, of looking and speaking. 5. A proper 
carriage of the body, graceful and upright. 6. An easy 
delivery of himself; good language, motion, and gesture. 
7. A knowledge of social acts; an observance of the 
laws of polite societ}^. 

A new teacher was employed where the pupils 
brought their lunches. They had been in the habit of 
walking around with bread and butter in their hands; 
she ordered that each should liave a napkin; no food 
to be wrapped in a newspaper; each to observe the eti- 



52 How to be a Sicccessful Teacher. 

quette of a lunch party at home; a basin of water to 
be used as a finger-bowl. One pupil, at least, never for- 
got this training." 

4. The school should be conducted so as to give the 
pupil a training in sociology. In the family he begins, 
in a limited way, to learn to yield to authority, to con- 
sider the wants and rights and happiness of others; in 
the school the field is broadened: he must consider those 
in whom he has no personal interest. The teacher who 
employs the school as an institution to train the pupils 
in sociology conceives it on a broader scale than one 
who employs it only to teach language and numbers. 
He selects some to assist him in the management, and 
places a part of the responsibility on them; he consults 
with them, inviting their opinions concerning misde- 
meanors; they learn to obey the requirements of an 
institution. 

5. Joyfulness must be one of the ends sought. 
Froebel lifted play into an important place in the kin- 
dergarten. Music is one of the easiest means of cre- 
ating Joyfulness, and cannot be neglected; there can 
scarcely be too much of it. There are numerous pieces 
that should be learned by heart so that they can be 
sung without the slightest effort; in some of these it 
is not the words that are of such importance; it is the 
melody. '\Mien classes are changing a melody may be 
struck up; it seems to give rest as well as pleasure. 
Some, having no piano, have a drum beat lightly; 
others employ a zither; the object is to impart life and 

joy. 

6. A noted clergvman said that when a bov he vis- 



How to be a Successful Teacher. 53 

ited a circus and was so impressed with the perform- 
ance that he felt to ride a horse was the only worthy 
thing in life. Youth are impressed by great and noble 
acts. They may not always attempt to copy the man 
they admire, but his acts give a tendency to their lives. 
In the great French potteries the finest paintings are 
placed in the halls through which the workmen pass; 
from them ideals of beauty are formed that affect the 
designs they place on their work. 

The usual method employed in the school is the rela- 
tion of an incident, the portrayal of an act. The ideal 
may be created by poetry, as " Excelsior," '' The Psalm 
of Life," etc. 

Teachers will be aided by photographs of eminent 
men, such as Washington, Hamilton, Longfellow, Low- 
ell, Tennyson, Lincoln. A school visited in California 
was having a '' Holmes' Day." His picture was on an 
easel with a wreath of evergreens; quotations were 
given by pupils. The object must be to honor great- 
ness, not to create dissatisfaction with their lives, which 
may be restricted and homely. 

7. The effort of the true teacher will be to develop 
character at all events. A pupil may be under his care 
so short a time as to obtain but little knowledge of 
literature or history, but he must be impressed with 
the idea that right doing exalts and satisfies and is to 
be followed at all hazards. The tendency of the whole 
school administration must be towards rightness. A 
standard must be set up and steadily aimed at. 
A school was visited where each pupil handed in writ- 
ten exercises; these accumulated and were thrown 



54 How to be a Successful Teacher. 

into the waste basket unexamined; knowing this the 
pupils became exceedingly careless in their penman- 
ship. To allow poor penmanship would be prejudicial 
to rightness. The motto is, '' Each day to do our best.'^ 
A pupil will insensibly develop character in the 
atmosphere of a school where there is a steady, un- 
faltering attempt to reach a standard of physical, 
mechanical, or intellectual excellence. Dr. S. H. Tay- 
lor taught Latin exclusively at Phillips Academy; the 
testimony of his pupils is that he was exceedingly suc- 
cessful in developing character. When a pupil recited 
he demanded effort to attain excellence. " Stand more 
erect, sir; ^^ '' On both feet; " " Look me in the eye; " 
^^ Adjust your clothing before you proceed,'^ etc. 

The pupils of the " commercial schools ^' testify that 
the careful training bestowed upon their penmanship 
and figures tends to make them upright men. This is 
a point well worth investigating by the teacher; an n, 
for example, is to be made of just such a height, width, 
slant, and size of line. A standard of excellence is set 
up in the mind and constant efforts made to reach it. 
This pertains to each letter and figure. 

What is true in regard to penmanship is true of all 
the studies and all the exercises, the assembling, the 
movements, the attitude, the behavior, the recitation, 
the treatment of books and furniture, the intercourse 
with each other, etc. A standard must be formed by 
the pupils and they must make efforts to reach it. 

16. rormation of Standards. — Standards or ideals are 
formed by the imagination out of materials susceptible 
of mental construction. In the case of the letter n the 



How to be a Successful Teacher. 55 

teacher may place a nearly perfect one before the pupil; 
his imagination will construct one that is complete, and 
that becomes his model. In the case of conduct, or of a 
recitation, ideals or standards are also formed; the 
skilful teacher can do a great deal to aid the construc- 
tion of these. 

Commendation of an act gives the pupil an idea of 
what the teacher considers correct. Suppose it to be 
the recitation of a poem, or explanation of a problem. 
" That was well done,'^ a smile or a nod shows the 
pupil that his attempt has been successful. Good teach- 
ing keeps the pupil in all the exercises making an effort 
to equal a standard fixed upon. The entire school feel 
themselves to be in a current; one reacts upon the 
other. It is helpful to discuss the general conduct; 
for example, to ask for opinions on the day^s work. 
"Have we had a good day?^^ "What is there to be 
commended in our day's work?'' "Who are especially 
to be commended?" 

17. Discussions of Standards. — The various incidents 
of school life furnish materials for discussions which 
will aid in forming ideals of conduct, and make clear 
what is right. This was the method of Jesus. " Who 
is my neighbor? " was asked, and Jesus relates an inci- 
dent. The teacher must be able to make a principle of 
action clear by appropriate incidents. 

In a large village the older boys were in the habit of 
going from the school to a well-fltted-up beer saloon; 
it was against the wishes of the parents. The teacher 
started a discussion by having a pupil relate the anec- 
dote of Washington's giving up going to sea at the re- 



56 How to be a Successful Teacher. 

quest of his mother. He made no application of the 
incident at the time. Selecting one boy before dis- 
missal he remarked^ " I want you to imitate Washing- 
ton.^^ He 3delded, and a disintegrating process was be- 
gun which shortly removed every boy from the saloon. 

18. Training to Act. — It is often the case that the 
rule will be admitted but not followed. In the case of 
children there must be a training to do what is declared 
to be right. To be kind to strangers or to elderly peo- 
ple is said to be right; the child is trained to provide 
seats for strangers and elderly people. To recognize a 
service or assistance is right; he is trained to say 
'' Thank you ^^ when helped. What is termed '' bring- 
ing up ^^ a child is training him to do those acts which 
are the result of observing the rule of right in respect 
to the common acts of human intercourse. If this is 
done at home the teacher's work is much aided; if not, 
as much as possible must be done in the school-room. 
If the pupil is trained to observe rules of right in small 
things, he will tend to observe them in larger things. 
The teacher, therefore, meets the pupil with a ^' Good- 
morning '' in the school-room and parts from him with 
^^ Good-night.'' In the large schools of Xew York this 
is done; of course^ to the assembled school; it is never 
omitted. 

The writer entered* a small school with its teacher one 
morning; she stopped to give no greeting, but called 
out, ^^ Every one, sit down!" "Take out your books," 
etc., etc. Probably a large proportion of the schools are 
begun in a similar way; but a golden opportunity of 
training to rightness in behavior is lost. 



How to be a Successful Teacher, 57 

19. From Rightness to Righteousness. — A school 
may attain exactness and thoroughness; the pupils la- 
boring for prizes or percentages may achieve showy 
results, but there will be a serious lack felt by both 
teacher and pupils if the righteousness motive is want- 
ing. 

We do not intend here to discuss the introduction of 
religious forms in the school; in the public school for- 
mal religion is in general not allowed; but it is believed 
that no sect disapproves of religious influences. By 
religion we mean (1) the knowledge men have ac- 
quired of the character of God; (2) the effect of that 
knowledge on the character of man. In carrying along 
a school so as to realize the practical results demanded, 
the teacher must appeal to the desire for a good stand- 
ing, or for approbation, or for future prosperity, or to 
a sense of duty. These are entirely appropriate, but the 
pupil is thus lifted but a little ways; there are higher 
motives, but they cannot be employed unless they 
make a part of the teacher^s life. Without the Bible 
or prayer he can show, if he so feels, that he is under 
obligation to the Father of all to do his duty and that 
he means to live so as to win His approval. 

This matter well deserves the most careful consid- 
eration, not merely for the influence religious motives 
have upon the school order and discipline, but because 
they quicken the lower motives and cause the acquisi- 
tion of knowledge for the good it may be to others, and 
because they free the will from bondage and make high 
purposes abiding in conduct. 

80, School Music. — The teacher w411 find great aid in 



58 How to he a Successful Teacher. 

the hymns allowed by all denominations; these may be 
employed not only at the opening and closing of school, 
but during the day. ^Ve give the names of a few: " God 
is Love/' " Heavenly Father, Sovereign Lord/' '' Day 
by Day we Magnify Thee/' " I Thank Thee, Lord, for 
Quiet Eest," ^^ There's not a Tint that Paints the 
Eose/' " AYorship the King." 

Besides these there are many that should be sung, 
such as, " My Country, 'Tis of Thee," " Be Thou, 
God, Exalted High/'^ ^^ Guide Me, Thou Great 
Jehovah," ^' Lead, Kindly Light," ^' Abide with Me," 
^^ Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing." It is a good 
plan to have each pupil possess a blank book marked 
'' School Songs and Hymns." The teacher can write 
the words of hymns and songs on the blackboard for 
the pupils to copy; a number will be given to each 
hymn or song. In the morning the numbers of the 
songs or hymns to be sung may be placed on the black- 
board; they will then be found by the pupils without 
further notice. In this way hymns and songs may be 
selected from numerous sources; a school should learn 
by rote not less than 100 songs and hjniins. 

Tlie singing of hymns ivill liave an effect even if no 
word of comment be uttered. The effort should be 
made not to have the singing a burden; two and at the 
most three stanzas will be sufficient. This caution must 
be constantly borne in mind. 

2L Literature. — There are numerous materials to be 
found in literature that will aid in the formation of 
character. A method the writer has found of service 
is to select a subject, as Decision, and ask all the 



How to be a Successful Teacher. 59 

older pupils to have something to say or quote upon it 
on a certain morning. In this way the elements of a 
good character come up for discussion, and a pupil 
learns what the majority of the school and the teacher 
consider to be right. Of course these discussions must 
never he dreary, should always be short, enlivened with 
anecdote, and impressive. There are few teachers that 
can talk to advantage on religious or moral subjects; let 
them beware of the temptation to talk; let them rather 
prefer to get the pupils to talking. 

THE TEACHER^S SUCCESS. 

22. Degrees of Success. — The attempt has been made 
to show how a teacher may attain a success of a worthy 
kind, of a lasting kind, of a kind that will give him 
great joy to contemplate in after-years. The real work 
of the teacher cannot be measured by the superin- 
tendent in a short visit. The pupil will acquire force 
under a genuine teacher; he will be impelled to ac- 
tivity, to industry, to thoughtfulness. While, there- 
fore, the teacher will inspect the pupils to know if he 
has been successful, he will also inspect himself. He 
will consider whether he has put forth high powers in 
his work or whether he has only heard recitations. If 
he has exercised his higher powers he may rightly ex- 
pect to have produced effects upon the spiritual powers 
of the pupil. Often the teacher is the only one in the 
district capable of touching the " harp-strings of the 
human soul; ^' often the teacher ends his work with 
hearing a lesson recited, not reflecting that that is but 
a beginning. 



6o Mow to he a Successful Teacher. 

Teaching is so complex^ so difl&cult an art in its high 
stages that it should be studied intensely. There are 
valuable books that should be owned and read. Every 
teacher should own books on teaching precisely as the 
lawyer and physician own books relating to their pro- 
fession. Among the books recommended are Page's 
^^ Theory and Practice of Teaching/' Parker's ^'^ Talks 
on Teaching." The writer ventures to recommend his 
little book on '^ School Management." 

Besides these^ after some experience, other books 
should be purchased, one, two, or three each year. The 
teacher is dealing with problems which demand that 
he know what are the opinions of the wisest of his pro- 
fession. Besides, a really successful teacher in one 
school is likely to be called to take charge of one de- 
manding more professional knowledge. The demand 
for educators is constant; it is recognized that educa- 
tional principles exist. 

Many a man with moderate attainments, having suc- 
ceeded in a small school, has failed in another where 
larger responsibilities had to be assumed. He had not 
made any study of education; he had no large princi- 
ples under his teaching. The teacher has a right to be 
ambitious and to be on the lookout for a broader field 
of usefulness; he should prepare himself for a broader 
field by welding all his detached items of knowledge 
into a solid coherent mass; he should possess a scientific 
cast of mind and look at his work from the standpoint 
of the philosopher, the statesman, the benefactor, and 
the Christian. 



Busy (Uorii Books and Belp$ 

Johnson's Education by Doing. 

A book of eduaative ocoupation for children in school. It presents the 
actual lessons to be given. It gives concrete methods of work -the very 
aids primary teachers are in search of. Here are just a few of the exer- 
cises it contains, 

IN ARITHMETIC : 
Exercise with blocks to teach Number. 

'' '' Cards '' '' Roman Numerals. 

'' " Flags '' " Number. 

** " Clock Dials. 

'• '' Measures to teach Liquid Measure. 

IN FORM AND GEOGRAPHY: 

Exercises with Pins to teach Form. 

'' Wire'' '' Curved Lines. 
'* Clay " '* Form. 

IN FOR.M AND COLOK : 

Exercise with Worsted. 

'' Shoe Pegs. 

'' Flags 
These are merely samples of the 58 kinds of exeraises, covering in addi- 
tion to the above subjects, Langaage, Busy Work and other subjects. 
Size, 6 £-8 X 4 1-2 iuches. 109 pages. Green cloth cover. 50v. ; to teach- 
ers, 4 c. , postage, 5c. 

Kellogg*s How to Manage Busy Work, 

By Amos M Kellogg. This is a new book of devices and methods. 
All primary and intermediate teachers and teachers of ungraded schools 
vrill find in i*: many helpful suggestions There are 27 illustrations. 7t 
contains : 

Occupations in Number. Occupations concerning People. 

'■ Language. '' from chart. 

'' '' Manual Training. Earth Occupations. 

'' with Things. Exhibits. Program for Day's Work. 

This is No. 1 of the "How Series." Size 7% x 5 inches. Limp cloth 
cover. 35 cents. 

Ke(logg*s Busy Work Cards. 

Series T. These cirds are entirely original in plan and have been very 
successful. No busy work nublished is of equal educational value The 
set contains 12 cards. All d fferent. They are to be given out to pupils 
and contain their own directions for work. The cards are 6'M x ^]4 inches 
in size; each contain i a lesson in penmanship, in punctuation, in lan- 
guage, ia number, and in drawing. This series has slanting writin g. I5c. 

Seripssil, Vertical WritiufiT. These are jus fc published. They are 
on the same plan as Series I., but all the lessons are new and the writing 
lessons are in the vertical style. The best results are obtained if you 
have as many cards as there are children iu your class. There are 12 cards 
in the series and three seti would supply a class of 36 children. 1 5c. a set. 

How to Teach Paper Folding and Cutting. 

±Jy Lucy R. Latteb, This is a practical manual for primary and kin- 
dergarten teachers. It gives full directions for making 42 different 
figures by folding and cutting It contains 71 illustrations, showing 
alrao«5t every fold We do not know of any little book on paper-folding 
that is so useful. Limp cloth covers. 25c, 

E. L KELLOGG & CO., - 6i East 9th Street, New York, 



"^fe"* TEACHINC; AMTHMETIC 

Kcllogg's How to Teach Fractions. 

By Amos M. Kellogg. Fractions is always a difficult subject for the 
pupil and for the teacher. This little book is designed to show how frac- 
tions may be taught so as to be easily grasped by the class. It will give 
the teachers some new ideas oa the subject that will most surely lighten 
the work . It is a practical book that comes from large experience. 

Limp cloth covers. 25 cents. 

Scclcy's Oruoc Method of Teaching Arithmetic. 

By Levi Seeley, Ph D , Prof, of Pedagogy, State Nurmal School, 
Trenton, N. J. The Grabe method is m use in a large number or the 
best schools of the U. S., andis, in fact, the basis of almost all the best 
teaching of the subject. Tfiisistne only complete manual of the Grutte 
method in Enyhs = . It is a perfect guide for the teacher. It takes up in 
succession the work of the first fo ir years, gives each step shows how it 
is to be taught, gives, in fact, the actual lessons, suggests problems 
written work, and oral work. It carries the method on into the subjects 
of fractions, percentage, etc., so that it is valuable to all teachers of the 
first six years' work. In many graded schools it is used constantly by 
the teachers. Teachers of ungraded schools will find it the best help 
they can get on teaching number. Size 69^x4 ^ inches— 177 pages- 
cloth binding. (Formerly $1 ) now 50 cents, postpaid. 

Seeley's Elements of the Grube Method. 

By Levi Seeley, Ph.D. This book gives the elements only of t!^e 
Grube Method which is more fully described in Dr. Seeley's larger book. 
It is designed for primary teachers. The method is made so clear that 
any teacher Can apply it- It takes up in detail the method of teaching 
the numbers up to 100 Size 73^x5 inches. 64 pages -flexible cloth 
binding. 25 cents, postpaid. 

Smith's Rapid Practice Arithmetic Cards. 

These cards are designed to supplement the problems in the arithmetics 
There are 28 boxes, each dealing with a different topic, the whole cover- 
ing thoroughly the subject of Arithmetic. Each box contains 60 cards 
(no two alike) with an average of 4 problems on each card. The abso- 
lutely novel and very valuable feature of the cards is that by means ot a 
series of figures on the back of each card and a key card, the teacher can 
tell instantly the correct answer to each problem tho it is hidden from 
*he pupil By use of these cards also the teacher can give different prob- 
lems to each pupil and there can be no comparing Teachers should ask 
their boards of education to furnish them a complete set of 28 boxes. 
The list of boxes is as follows. Order by number. 

19. Frartiong. R. 

20. " A. 

21. Analysis — Fractions. 
22 I^ecimal Fra* tion. 



1. Addition, Concrete Work. 

2. '* Introductory. 
8. " Primary. 

4. " Intermediate. 

5. '' Gram. Grade. 

7. Subtraction. B. 

8. " A. 

9. Addition and Subtraction. 
10. Multiplication. i\ 

12. Multiplication. A. 

13. Division. C. 

14. *♦ B. 

15. »• A. 
16- Fundamental Operations. 
17. Analysis. 

Price, 50 cents a box postpaid. Sets of 28 boxes in handsome wooden 
case, $14. 

E. L. KELLOGG & CO., 6i E 9th Street, New York, 



23. Metric System. 

25. Percentage. 

25 Interest. 

27. Discount. 

28. 'Weights and Measures. 

29. Proportion, 

30. Partnership and Assess- 

ments. 

31. Meas'irement. 

32. Measurement Advanced. 



KELLOGG'S 

RECEPTION DAY SERIES 

SIX NUMBERS. 

A collection of Recitations, Declamations, Dialogs, Class Exercises, 
Memorial Days. Everything in these books can be used. No scenery 
required. For general school use it U the best collection published ana 
the cheapest. Each contains idO pages with strong and pretty cover. 
84»c. each. The set of 6 postpaid (nearly 1 000 pages) for only n^ i .00. 

Here is a hint of what these books contain : 



NO I CONTAINS 
29 Recitations. 
14 Declamations. 

24 Selections for Primary Classes. 

25 Dialogs, among which are: 
*' Christmas," for 9 boys and G girls. 
** The American Flag." for 3 boys. 
*' A Stitch in Time Saves Nine," for 
3 girls. '' The Happy Family," for 
2 girls and 2 boys '' Who Shall 
Vote? "for 19 boys. 

NO. 2 CONTAINS 

29 Recitations. 

12 Declamations. 

24 Primary Pieces. 
4 Memorial Day Programs for 
Garfield, Grant, Mrs. Sigourney, 
Whittier. 

4 Glas^ Exercises -among them 
beiag Washington's Birthday, An 
Operetta, The Birds' Party, for 
Closing Exercises. 

17 Dialogs. 

NO. 3 CONTAINS 

21 Recitations. 

18 Declamations. 
17 Primary Pieces. 

22 Dialogs among them these 
very popular ones: '' Bob Sawyer's 
Evening Party," for 4 boys and 2 
girls; ''Work Conquers," for 11 
girls and 6 boys. ''Judging by 
Appearances," for 5 boys. 



NO. 4 CONTAINS 

21 Recitations. 

23 Declamations. 

5 Memorial Days—Thomas Camp- 
bell, Longfellow, Michael Angelo, 
Shakespeare, Washington. 

7 Class Exercises, including one 
each for Christmas, 1 hanksgiving. 
Arbor Day, Tree Planting, Wash- 
ington's Birthday. 

8 Dialogs, including the very at- 
tractive Mother Goose's Party, for 
2 girls and 4 boys. 

NO. 5 CONTAINS 

36 Recitations. 
16 Declamations. 

5 Class Exercises and Memorial 
Days as follows : Autumn Exercise 
— Mrs BrowniDg Memorial Day— 
Bryant Memorial Day— Christmas 
Exercise— Tree Planting Exercises. 

24 Dialogs. 

NO. 6 CONTAINS 

41 Recitations. 

6 Declamations. 

4 School-Room Songs. 

15 Primary Pieces. 
6 Dialogs among them '' Haw vs 
Hum." for 8 boys; " Choosing Voca- 
tions," for 2 boys and 3 girls. 

10 Class Exercises, including " A 
Flower Exercise" (for little ones'; 
" A New Year's Greeting : " Holmes' 
Exercises ; Our Nation's Birthday; 
Washington's Birthday Exercise. 



Kellogg's Special Day Books — ii volumes — Price, 25c. each. 

Kellogg's School Entertainment Series — 17 volumes — Price, 
15 cents each. 

Catalog containing ^ull de4:cripiion of these and 
other teacher>s* hooK^s sent on request. 

E. L. KELLOGO & CO., 61 East 9th St., New YorK. 



" , HELPS IN 

MANAGEMENT AND DISCIPLINE. 

Hughes' Securing: and Retaining Attention. 

By JAMES I^. HUGHES, Author of ** Mistakes in Teaching.'* 

If you know how to gain and retain the attention of your pupils, half 
the battle is won. You will easiJy be sucoessrul It' not, school lire will 
be a burdea. One of the most saccesst'ui teachers has written the best 
book on this subject. All teachers may add to their power by a study ot 
it. This is the only authorized edition published in the United fcitates and 
any other offered you is incomplete. 

bize, 6^x 434 inches, 90 pages. Cloth binding, 50c.; to teachers, 40c. ; 
postage, 5c. 

Hughes' How to Keep Order. 

By JAMES L. HUGHES, Author of ** Mistakes in Teaching.** 

This is one of the most practical helpful little books for the teachers 
ever written. It should be owned and rea I and re-read b^ every young 
teacher and every teacher wh ) finds the problem oc discipline a hard 
one to solve. If you fail in ke3ping order you fail in everything. The 
advice and suggestions given in this book come from the trained teacher 
who knows what to do and what not to do. The study of it will show 
you the way to success in discipline. This is No. 8 of the Teachers' 
Manuals Series. 15c. 

Kellogg's Scliool Management. 

By AMOS M. KELLOGG, Editor of *'The School Journal." 

This book is entirely devoted to this point -the most difficult of all 
schoolwork— the government of a school, and it is filled with original 
and practical ideas on the subject. It is invaluable to the teacher who 
desires to make his school " well-governed." 1. It suggests methods of 
awakening an interest in the studies and in school work. 2. It suggests 
methods of making the school attractive. 3. Above all, it shows that the 
pupils will be self-governed when well governed. It shows how to de- 
velop the process of sel -government 4. It shows how regular attention 
and courteous behavior may be secured. 

CHAPTER HEADING S .—Preface. Introductory. Visit to a Well-Man- 
aged School. Love for the Work. Principles Which Underlie School 
Management. The Teacher in the School-Room. Regular Attendance. 
Discipline or Training. Penalties. The Teacher Must Interest his Pu- 
pils Must Fully Employ his Pupils. Must Conduct his Work Systema- 
tically. Miscellaneous Suggestions. School Amusements. Unruly. Pu- 
pils. This book goes straight to the point in a plain, practical way. It 
18 a very useful book and is widely read and studied. 

Size, 6% X 4!^ inches. 124 pages. Cloth binding, 50c.; to teachers, 
40c.; postage, 5c. 

Fitch's Art of Securing Attention 

By J. G. FITCH, Author of '* Lectures on Teaching." 

The art of securing attention is at the foundation of all discipline 
and its mastery essential to success. This little book by one of the 
greatest teachers of our time is full of helpful advice— it gives the founda- 
tion principles. There is no teacher who will not be helped by it. 
Topical headings aid the student. 15c. 

E. L, KELLOGG & CO., 61 B, m St., N. Y. 



